My Little Plastic Footprint

We create lots of plastic waste. Lot of discarded plastic ends up in the ocean. Breaking up to small fragments, this plastic litter has become a soup of microplastics. Today, our oceans resemble a global soup of micro plastics: The Plastic Soup.

OUR PLASTIC FOOTPRINTThe Plastic Soup in our ocean is growing, mainly because of litter from land. We are allresponsible for this; consumers, companies and governments. Plastic litter consists primarily of single use packaging materials. Of all the plastic we use every day, we throw 50% away within 20 minutes. About 3% of this will eventually end up in surface water.That’s 40 grams per month per human being on this planet: each of us has a little plastic soup footprint.

WORSE THAN WE THOUGHTPlastic does not biodegrade in the ocean. Instead, it disintegrates into ever smaller fragments until it is no longer visible to the naked eye. Of all plastic that ends up in the water, 94% will eventually sink to the bottom of the sea. The plastic particles are eaten by plankton, fish and other animals in the ocean. Because sea animals cannot digest plastic, the micro plastics are causing deaths to all kinds of marine life.Moreover, plastic waste disintegrating into micro plastics causes the release of toxic substances.

PEOPLE ARE ALSO UNDER THREATThe plastic pollution of ocean water is not only threatening animals. More than half of the world’s population depends on the ocean as a main food resource. This is happening now ‘in our own backyard’. For example, in the Netherlands, microplastics were found in common North Sea cod.

IF WE DO NOTHING -- IN 2050 THERE WILL BE MORE PLASTIC THAN FISH IN THE SEA!The Ellen McArthur Foundation predicts that if we do not change our habits, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050 (continued overfishing means that this event may happen sooner than 2050).Despite these facts, we continue to produce more plastic every year instead of less, because of the wide range of products and technologies that can now be made with plastic. In 2015 we produced 322 million tons and this is expected to increase to 622 million tons (!) within 20 years.

THE SOLUTIONWe need to become aware of our role in contributing to the Plastic Soup, and learn how to reduce our Plastic Footprint. This app is going to help you do that:

MY LITTLE PLASTIC FOOTPRINT APPThis App makes it fun to learn the facts about plastic soup, and how to reduce it. Including an interactive quiz, and a Plastic Footprint calculator, this App shows you how to adopt healthy habits regarding plastic consumption, and lets you spread awareness among your friends. You will also be able to join cool events and follow ocean heros, such as sailor Dorian van Rijsselberghe, surfer Merijn Tinga, and DJ Oliver Heldens.

My Little Plastic Footprint is the first tool ever to help consumers reduce their personal plastic footprint. Throughout the three dimensions of the app, you can:- Discover the plastic soup,- Reduce his own plastic Footprint by joining and committing to pledges,- Inspire and get inspired by famous personalities and other people who fight the same battle.

ABOUT USThe international team behind this app includes the following partners:Plastic Soup Foundation: NGO based in Amsterdam leading the worldwide campaign “Beat the Microbead”. Their mission: no plastic waste in our water!EA: in-depth knowledge of data and gamification expert.Smäll: one of the leading advertising agencies in Spain in the field of sustainability.Ocean Recovery Alliance: International NGO based in Hong Kong and the US, with two global programs on plastic pollution, one of which is the Plastic Disclosure Project, which is a B2B version of the footprinting process.